FTS 12:30 03-01: Israeli strikes kill dozens in Central and Southern Gaza
3/01/2024
FTS 12.30
*Iran: terrorist attack during tribute to General Soleimani leaves 108 dead and 211 injured
*UK resident doctors begin 6-day strike for higher wages
FTS 12.30
*Iran: terrorist attack during tribute to General Soleimani leaves 108 dead and 211 injured
*UK resident doctors begin 6-day strike for higher wages
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NewsTranscript
00:00 In Iran, two explosions occurred on Wednesday, one on a road and another one outside a mosque
00:16 near the cemetery where General Qasem Soleimani is buried in the city of Karam, leaving dozens
00:21 dead and others wounded.
00:25 In Palestine, dozens of Palestinians, including children and women, were killed and injured
00:30 early Wednesday morning as Israeli occupation forces continued shelling several areas of
00:35 the Gaza Strip, especially in the central and southern region.
00:42 In the United Kingdom, resident doctors began a six-day strike to demand a full restoration
00:47 of their salaries.
00:53 Hello and welcome to From the South.
00:55 My name is Belén de los Santos and from the Telesor studios in Havana, Cuba, we begin
00:59 with the news.
01:00 In Iran, two explosions occurred on Wednesday, one on a road and another one outside a mosque
01:05 near the cemetery where General Qasem Soleimani is buried in the city of Karam, leaving dozens
01:10 dead and others wounded.
01:11 The emergency ministries estimated that so far 108 people were killed and another 180
01:18 were injured in the explosions, as reported by the Iran agencies.
01:22 The first explosion occurred 700 meters from Soleimani's tomb and the second one a kilometer
01:27 from the shrine.
01:29 People have already been evacuated from the site and law enforcement officials are working
01:33 to determine the cause of the detonations.
01:36 Meanwhile, local authorities have reported that these were terrorist attacks.
01:40 A source familiar with the matter also revealed to the media that initial investigations show
01:45 that there were two bombs on the roads where the explosions took place and the terrorists
01:50 detonated them by remote control.
01:52 According to the agency, contrary to other rumors, this attack was not a suicide bombing.
02:04 And amid this aggression, Iranian citizens continue to pay tribute to martyred Commander
02:09 Qasem Soleimani, killed by US forces four years ago in Iraq.
02:14 Tens of thousands of people dressed in mourning clothes marched on Wednesday to Karaman Cemetery
02:19 to pay tribute to former Commander Soleimani, killed by a US drone at Baghdad International
02:25 Airport in Iraq.
02:26 Among the crowd, young people hold pictures of General Soleimani and reaffirm the country's
02:31 commitment to avenge the assassination of their commander.
02:35 In parallel, countries of Iraq and Lebanon hold memorial ceremonies confirming their
02:40 loyalty to Soleimani's ideals and expressing gratitude for his service in the army.
02:44 In Palestine, dozens of civilians, including children and women, were killed and injured
03:10 early Wednesday morning as Israeli occupation forces continued shelling several areas in
03:14 the Gaza Strip, especially in the central and southern region.
03:18 The Israeli destruction machine continues to wage its aggression and war against the
03:22 Gaza Strip.
03:24 For the 89th consecutive day, the death toll in the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the
03:29 aggression until yesterday evening amounted to more than 22,000, most of them women and
03:35 children, while the number of wounded exceeded the 57,000, and others are still missing.
03:43 On Wednesday, Israeli air force destroyed civilian infrastructure in the New Sarat camp,
03:48 and recently the bodies of four civilian women were recovered in Han Yunis after the Red
03:53 Crescent teams were able to enter Hamad town.
03:56 The occupation air forces also launched a series of violent attacks on New Sarat, Budish
04:02 and al-Maghazi camps in the central Gaza Strip, as well as on the al-Manar, al-Qaising and
04:08 al-Najjar and Manan neighborhoods in Han Yunis city.
04:16 On Wednesday, the Palestinian Islamic resistance movement Hamas announced that it had frozen
04:20 all talks on the exchange of hostages, hostage-takers and a possible ceasefire following the assassination
04:26 of Saleh al-Rowri.
04:28 Shortly before the crime committed by the Zionist government of Israel, the leader of
04:32 the resistance, Ismail Haniyeh, subscribed to proposals from Egypt and Qatar on a ceasefire.
04:39 In the meantime, both Cairo and Doha have been informed of the suspension of any agreement
04:44 or dialogue.
04:46 It should be noted that neither the Washington government nor the Tel Aviv have referred
04:50 to the assassination of one of the key figures of the resistance, along with six other commanders.
04:56 On the other hand, it was learned that on Wednesday, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah
05:00 will deliver a speech.
05:08 And in this context, Israeli occupation forces have been carrying out an aggression against
05:13 Tul Karem city and its two camps, Tul Karem and Nurshams, for more than 10 hours, during
05:19 which they detained a number of citizens accompanied by police dogs.
05:23 The occupation army stormed dozens of houses in the neighborhoods of Nursham camp, causing
05:29 havoc and destroying properties and infrastructure, detaining their owners and beating them.
05:35 The Red Crescent reported that its teams treated three wounded as a result of a beating in
05:40 Nursham camp, one of whom was a 65-year-old man.
05:50 In Yemen, the spokesman of the armed forces, Yahya Saray, declared to the national media
05:54 that they attacked a commercial vessel in the Red Sea because they detected it was bound
05:58 for Israel.
05:59 With the help of God Almighty, the naval forces of the Yemeni armed forces carried out a targeted
06:08 operation against the ship CMA-CGM Tej, which was heading to the port of occupied Palestine.
06:15 The targeted operation came after the ship's crew refused to respond to calls from the
06:19 Yemeni naval forces, including warning chucks.
06:24 The Yemeni armed forces affirmed that any American aggression will not go unanswered
06:29 or unpunished.
06:30 The Yemeni armed forces warn the American enemy of orders of any attack or action that
06:36 constitutes a protection of commercial ships bound to the Zionist entity.
06:42 On Wednesday, in the United Kingdom, a six-day resident doctor's strike began to demand a
06:47 full restoration of salaries.
06:49 Doctors seek 35% pay rise to reverse pay cuts that have fallen 26% since 2008 and 2009.
06:56 During the mobilizations, the British Medical Association rejected the government's previous
07:01 pay proposals as insufficient.
07:04 The National Health Service warned that multiple demonstrations by residents are leading to
07:08 the suspension of thousands of medical appointments, including those of patients with serious illnesses.
07:14 The union noted that wages, particularly in the public sector, have fallen in real terms
07:19 over the past decade and double-digit inflation in late 2022 and early 2023, stoked by rising
07:26 food and energy prices, left many workers struggling with the bills.
07:36 I'm prepared to keep striking until we get presented with a credible offer to restore
07:40 our payback because I think we need to retain our doctors.
07:43 I don't think we can afford not to pay our doctors, so I will continue to strike for
07:47 the pay for me and my colleagues.
07:50 Pay the people.
07:52 Just pay them properly.
07:53 Pay them properly and ensure that they have also access to good mental health care and
07:58 sleep and rest and so that there's adequate staffing because it's really appalling.
08:02 A lot of students are already looking at leaving the country, some of them to go into alternative
08:08 careers and this is, again, before we've even graduated.
08:12 And I think with the cost of living crisis, how bad our student bursaries are, it's going
08:18 to take us years to pay back our student loans.
08:20 I think the most important thing is the fact that retention is not going to happen if we
08:25 don't pay our doctors properly.
08:27 Let's take a short break, but remember you can join us on TikTok @elisirenglish where
08:31 you will find news in different formats, news updates and more.
08:36 Other stories coming up, stay with us.
08:37 Welcome back.
08:59 In Panama, popular forces gathered around the National Assembly and rejected the annual
09:04 report on parliamentary management account presented by President Laurentino Cortizo
09:08 to the parliament.
09:09 Assuring that the Panamanian executive has not been respectful of the democratic process,
09:15 they qualified the summary of the administration as a fallacy.
09:19 Representatives of social union and indigenous movements gathered in the surroundings of
09:23 the assembly.
09:24 They took there the rejection of the management of both the executive and the legislative
09:28 powers to put the test in the mobilization in rejection of the mining contract.
09:34 Saul Mendes, executive secretary of the construction workers, denounced the government's complicity
09:41 with those who plunder the nation.
09:49 Cortizo lies when he says that there is a counterweight of the state.
09:53 No counterweight of the state will have approved a law like that one.
09:57 And in
10:26 response to the president's intervention, the general secretary of the construction
10:30 union accused Cortizo of being an accomplice of the Canadian mining company and of cooperating
10:36 to violate the constitution.
10:40 First Quantum has control, I reiterate, of the mine, in complicity with Laurentino Cortizo
10:48 and the commission traders that he appointed.
10:51 Commission traders of whom, of those who had already negotiated the same contract that
10:56 violated the constitution 25 times in his article and several international conventions.
11:04 We go now to Colombia, where President Gustavo Petro extended on Tuesday the ban on carrying
11:09 firearms and the suspension of permits within the national territory during 2024.
11:14 This extension, which has been in effect since 2018, was carried out by the current ruler
11:19 with the objective of protecting the lives of Colombians and under the principles of
11:23 the National Development Plan 2022-2026 of the Petro administration.
11:29 The carrying of weapons has been an issue mentioned on several occasions by Petro, who
11:33 has even raised the need for a national disarmament and the elimination of the existing special
11:40 permits to carry weapons.
11:42 His policy against weapons aims to reduce the number of murders and crimes in the country.
11:51 Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro denounced that Guyana's current actions are the same
11:55 as those of former British Guyana.
11:58 The Venezuelan head of state said the country is presently in a difficult situation regarding
12:02 the territorial controversy with Guyana over the Ezequiel due to the presence a few days
12:08 ago of a British military ship in the waters yet under dispute.
12:12 Maduro affirmed that his Guyanese counterpart, Mohamed Irfan Ali, is behaving as London's
12:18 end play by accepting that one of its warships get near Venezuelan coasts to threaten Caracas.
12:25 The Bolivarian president reiterated that Venezuela has the military power to respond to any threat
12:30 from any aggressing country.
12:36 Guyana is not acting as a cooperative republic of Guyana.
12:42 Guyana is acting as a British Guyana, allowing that a warship goes to its coast and from
12:48 its coast threatens Venezuela.
12:51 In Mexico, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs informed that operations will resume at four
12:55 border crossings blocked with the United States.
12:58 The United States Customs and Border Protection Office, in contact with the Mexican Foreign
13:02 Ministry, detailed that as of January 4th, several border entry points will reopen.
13:09 Among them, the towns of Eagle Pass, Texas; San Isidro, California; Luzville; and Nogales
13:14 in Arizona.
13:16 The Mexican Foreign Ministry was in permanent contact with neighboring authorities at the
13:20 federal, state and local levels to obtain timely information on the matter and to re-establish
13:25 commercial operations at these crossings as soon as possible.
13:29 Mexico celebrated this decision as a result of the meeting held by President Andrés Manuel
13:34 LĂłpez Obrador on December 27th with a delegation of high-level officials from the neighboring
13:39 country regarding immigration situation.
14:02 We have a second short break coming up, but before we invite you to join our WhatsApp
14:05 community for our English-speaking audience.
14:08 You can scan the QR code on screen to join directly and also share the link to reach
14:12 more people.
14:13 Come see news coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as the rest of the
14:17 world.
14:18 Stay connected and informed with Telesurf.
14:20 Final short break.
14:21 Don't go away.
14:21 Welcome back.
14:43 Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces announced on Wednesday their readiness to
14:46 start direct negotiations with the army for an immediate ceasefire.
14:51 The announcement comes along with the Addis Ababa statement, in which the paramilitary
14:55 and the coordination of civil democratic forces call for a ceasefire and an end to the war.
15:01 They also announced the liberation of more than 450 detainees and the creation of safe
15:07 corridors for the entry of humanitarian aid.
15:10 Since April 2023, following the overthrow of President Omar al-Bashir in 2019, fighting
15:16 between the army and the paramilitary forces has escalated, creating an unprecedented humanitarian
15:22 crisis in the country.
15:28 In Northeastern Nigeria, at least 12 people have been killed in an attack by suspected
15:32 members of the Boko Haram terrorist group.
15:35 Authorities have indicated that the attackers were wearing military fatigues when they stormed
15:39 heavily armed at the New Year celebration in the towns of Gatamarwa and Tisha, where
15:46 they killed 12 people and wounded two others.
15:49 Also reported at the launch of an investigation into the event, which comes just two weeks
15:54 after terrorists carried out a similar attack that killed two people and several houses
15:59 were looted and burned.
16:01 Insecurity in Nigeria, previously centered in the northwest of the country where Boko
16:05 Haram and its splinter groups operate, has spread to other areas in the north and northwest,
16:11 raising alarms about the possible expansion of these terrorist and criminal networks.
16:20 The government of France announced the closure until further notice of its embassy in Niger
16:25 for diplomatic reasons following the coup d'etat that overthrew former President Mohamed
16:29 Bassoum.
16:30 The Foreign Ministry indicated that the activities of the embassy in Niamey will be carried out
16:35 from now on from Paris.
16:38 The Foreign Ministry also assured that it would maintain its ties with non-governmental
16:42 organizations working in the humanitarian field, which it would continue to finance.
16:47 For its part, Paris accused the Nigerian military junta of making it impossible to maintain
16:53 the diplomatic mission, wielding a blockade around the embassy and restrictions on personnel,
16:58 describing the act as a clear violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
17:04 We move on to other topics.
17:19 The Russian armed forces have confirmed that they attacked with precision weapons on Tuesday.
17:25 Several Ukrainian military industry plants engage in the production and repair of missiles
17:29 and unmanned aerial vehicles.
17:31 According to a statement by the Defense Ministry, the targets of the attacks were in and around
17:36 the city of Kiev, and added that several storage sites for missiles, artillery and aviation
17:41 ammunition supplied to Ukraine by Western countries were also attacked.
17:46 The Ukrainian side reported that detonations were heard both in Kiev and in the cities
17:50 of Kharkov, Vinnytsia and Kirovograd.
17:54 Around noon, Ukraine reportedly launched a response attack against the Russian province
18:00 of Belgorod.
18:06 The governor of the Russian city of Belgorod, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said that Russian and
18:12 anti-aircraft defense shot down nine air targets near the city on Tuesday, while the Russian
18:18 Defense Ministry revealed that the attempted Ukrainian attack was carried out with two
18:23 Tochka-U missiles and seven Ola missiles.
18:27 According to preliminary data, no injuries were reported.
18:30 However, the Belgorod governor informed that some houses and a car had been damaged in
18:35 the city.
18:37 The operational services are assessing the consequences on the ground.
18:45 President Recep Tayyip Erdogan from Turkey announced on Tuesday that the country's export
18:49 on 2023 hit a record high of US$255.8 billion, ticking up 0.6% from the previous year.
19:00 According to the president, the figure surpassed the medium-term program target of US$255 billion.
19:06 Besides, the export to import-covered trade gained 0.8% from the previous year to reach
19:13 70.7% in 2023.
19:17 The country's foreign trade deficit narrowed 3.2% year-on-year in 2023.
19:23 As of October, Turkey's annual service exports also reached a historic high of US$99.3 billion.
19:31 Erdogan said that Turkey aims to boost its goods and services exports in 2024 to over
19:38 US$375 billion.
19:47 And like this we have come to the end of this news brief.
19:49 You can find these and many other stories on our website at tellusorenglish.net.
19:54 And also join us on social media.
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20:01 For Tell Us Your English, my name is Belén de los Santos.
20:03 Thank you for watching.
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